BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has voiced his party's support for both the students’ demonstration for quota reform and the teachers’ movement against the universal pension scheme.
He called for the withdrawal of the pension scheme at a press conference held at the party chairperson's political office in Gulshan of Dhaka on Saturday.
Fakhrul expressed concern over the widespread abstention from work by teachers and employees of all public universities due to the pension scheme dispute.
He criticised the government's circulars involving teachers and employees in the Universal Pension Scheme, which has led to a stalemate in higher education institutions, a situation he described as worrying for the nation.
"The scheme has opened another avenue for corruption for this bankrupt government," said Fakhrul. "Given the country's extremely critical economic condition, the government aims to unfairly extract pension money from teachers and other sectors."
He further stated, "Launching the Universal Pension Scheme is a strategy to repair the weak financial sector of the government. The so-called Pratya Scheme is another illegal and financially exploitative initiative by this bankrupt government. The movement and protest initiated by the teachers' society are logical and deserve support."
Fakhrul confirmed BNP's support for the teachers' and employees' movement and called for the immediate withdrawal of the pension scheme.
On the issue of quota reform, Fakhrul emphasised the need for equality, stating, "All citizens are equal constitutionally and legally. In a technology and talent-driven world, it is almost impossible to thrive as a nation with a 56 per cent quota system. The quota system does not contribute to merit development in any category."
He also accused the current "illegitimate, unelected, authoritarian government" of using the judiciary to suppress the fair movement of students.
KH/NMA